At least three minors and three adults have been shot dead by a heavily armed 28-year-old former student who broke into the Alianza Presbyterian College, a private early childhood and primary education center in Nashville, Tennessee. The attacker died after police intervention.
The attacker entered the educational center through a side entrance armed with two assault rifles and a pistol and killed three children under the age of nine and three school workers, the Nashville Police reported. Among the fatalities there are two women aged 61 and 60 and a 61-year-old man.
The agents entered through the ground floor at 10:27 a.m. They heard shots on the first floor and finally managed to kill the woman.
“The first data already indicated that she was a former student of that school,” Nashville Police Chief John Drake explained, quoted by CNN. At the moment he has not revealed the identity of the attacker, but the Police already know where she lived.
Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville had previously confirmed three minors and two adults. “Three pediatric patients have been transferred to Vanderbilt’s Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital, all of them with gunshot wounds. The three have been declared dead upon arrival” at the health center, the hospital reported, according to local television WSMV, NBC affiliate.
A meeting point for victims and relatives has been set up at the Woodmont Baptist Church, at 2100 Woodmont Boulevard, the Police added.
All hospitals in the area are on alert, as reported by the local news portal Scoop Nashville.
Nashville Mayor John Cooper has posted a message on social media. “On this tragic morning Nashville has joined the fateful list of communities that have experienced a school shooting. My heart goes out to the families of the victims. The entire city stands with you,” he said.
“The news is still coming in, but I want to thank the emergency services and healthcare professionals,” added Cooper.
